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SKOPJE (Reuters) - Shocked Macedonians on Tuesday mourned one of their biggest stars, singer Tose Proeski, who was killed in a car crash on a Croatian motorway in the early hours.

In the capital Skopje, thousands of sobbing fans gathered in the main square, lighting candles and leaving flowers, teddy bears and posters of the 26-year-old pop star in makeshift shrines.

The government said the day of Proeski's funeral would be a day of national mourning and awarded him the title "Honorable citizen of Macedonia". It cancelled its sessions for the day, and sent a delegation to Croatia to recover his body.

"We all couldn't help but love Tose Proeski," said Macedonia's President Branko Crvenkovski in a statement expressing his condolences to the singer's family.

Croatian police said Proeski's vehicle hit the back of a truck and crashed into the protective fence on the Zagreb to Belgrade highway near Nova Gradiska, 120 km (70 miles) east of Zagreb. He was asleep in the passenger seat.

Two other people in the car were injured.

Macedonian television stations interrupted their regular programs with news of the accident.

Proeski, a classically-trained singer, started his pop career at 15, releasing his debut album at 18.His boyish good looks and passionate delivery made him a regional favorite. He had several number one hits in Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia with songs such as "Cija si" (Whose Are You) and "Ako me poglednes vo oci" (If You Look Me In The Eyes).

He sang in Macedonian and Serbian and represented Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2004.

He was also a UNICEF goodwill ambassador and toured the Balkans to promote humanitarian projects.

Tose's funeral is at this moment... Half of the republic is there, biggest stars for Serbia and Croata same, many BUlgarinas...

My favourite, Zlejko Joksimovic, who stopped a concert in Germany, was crying infront of the camera saying that the world lost an angel, and sang one of Tse's songs, "you are an angel". Damn this is so fuking sad...

"This wonderful night will give us the colours for our crest: black and blue against a backdrop of gold stars. It will be called Internazionale, because we are brothers of the world."

His name means nothing to Greeks, but international media reported the
sudden death of the 26-year-old pop star which plunged the Balkans
into mourning.

Tose Proeski was more than a a popular singer in the Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). He was a folk hero, a source of pride
to the citizens of this young Balkan nation. And this is partly
because Proeski was also widely popular in all the other countries of
the former Yugoslavia. Among the first to sign one of the five
condolence books in Skopje's main square were President Branko
Crvenkovski and Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski. Sadness over the death
of the young man was expressed by, among others, the head of the
country's Orthodox Church, Archbishop Stefan, the chiefs of all
parliamentary parties, European Commission Ambassador Erwan Fouere,
the US ambassador, representatives of the country's music world and
other notables. Parliament, upon hearing the news, observed one minute
of silence and canceled the rest of the session. The government
declared yesterday a day of national mourning.

The death of a pop idol always provokes extreme reactions, especially
when a death comes so early. In Proeski's case, the extent of the
shock waves felt by the news media and the manner in which it was
handled, reflects an entire society. The young singer, and now his
memory, represents the worries, dreams and illusions of the entire
nation. The fact that the death of a singer ranked so highly for the
president that he hastened to sign the condolence book says something.
Yes, a state as young as this, established just in 1991, has earned
the right to have 26-year-old heroes and to mourn the death of a young
man. But is that all? Maybe this sad story has something to tell the
rest of us who never heard Tose Proeski sing.

FYROM, after winning the wager of survival under difficult conditions,
is trying to stand on its own two feet. The environment is not ideal.
Relations are only good with its northern neighbor Serbia. With
Albania, they have the issue of the Albanian minority and Bulgaria has
accused the country of discriminating against ethnic Bulgarian
citizens. With Greece, the country faces the well-known issue over its
name. The entire world refers to FYROM by its constitutional name as
the Greek foreign minister goes to great lengths to convince the
international community that it should not be using this name on
official documents. Naturally, there are reasons, but let us take a
moment to see what we have achieved: We have estranged a small nation
that is friendly toward Greece and instead of turning it into a
potential satellite, we have turned it into a problem. If, however,
this has allowed us to become the biggest foreign investors in the
country, then there is still room for progress. And – who knows? –
maybe Proeski's successor will be singing in Greek.

Greek newspaper or whatever... About Tose...

One remark, he is not FOLK singer, he is a POP singer.

"This wonderful night will give us the colours for our crest: black and blue against a backdrop of gold stars. It will be called Internazionale, because we are brothers of the world."